Disclaimer: You people already know what I'm going to say, so I don't need to say it.
Author's Notes: Aside from the sequel to this, I still have the two fics that I all but abandoned. I plan on revising them and getting them up-to-date. As for others I have planned, I have a Vandread one that isn't related to The Unknown Soldier, as well as another one for Battletech.
Oh, and GyverWolf, glad to be of help. I wouldn't mind chatting with you either, when I could find the time.
Vandread: The Unknown Soldier (Revised)
Chapter Seventeen: Hunted
Location: Meia's Dread. Jungle on Unknown planet.
It had been about an hour since they crash-landed in some jungle on this uncharted planet, and Meia was yet again in the cockpit of her Dread. She wasn't trying to get it repaired, as there was no way she could get it off this planet under it's own power, as it was missing a wing, and it's structure was pretty melted along the right side. As it stood, the lack of balance, as well as the damage, prevented her fighter from being usable anytime soon. No, she was trying to get the communications system back online.
"Any luck yet?" Aidan asked from the ground.
"A little. I've managed to get it partially functioning," she replied, still working on the comm system.
"Good, we need to be able to transmit a coded, tight-beam message to the Nirvana," he said.
"I know, I'm working on it," she replied. She knew that activating the Dread's distress beacon, or transmitting a broadband message, would undoubtedly give away their presence to that enemy warship lingering in orbit. If there was anything that she didn't want, it was to be captured or killed by the E.D.A. After thinking for a moment, she asked Aidan a question.
"What about your Striker?"
"What about it? It's not currently operable," he replied. "It sustained heavy damage during atmospheric entry. And besides, it's comm system is not as powerful as the one in your fighter."
"Oh," she replied as she continued to mess with the wires and circuit underneath one of the panels in the cockpit. After a bit more work, she managed to get the comm system to function once again. "Good, it's working."
Aidan climbed up to the cockpit, and peered inside. "Good, now all you need to do is relay the message, and set it on a coded frequency. Then, you compress it and send it out in the last known location of the Nirvana. I have a feeling that we aren't to be alone very much longer."
"What do you mean?" she asked after she completed sending the message.
"I think they are sending troops down here," he replied. "But I'm not completely sure."
"Troops?" she asked, a little worried, but trying her hardest not to show it. "What for? As far as they know, we're-"
"We're dead," he finished. "I know, but I believe they are coming for us. Either to capture or finish us off."
"If so, how long until they land?" she asked.
"From where their ship was last positioned, and the time it takes to get down here, I'd have to say, about two hours."
"Assuming what you say is correct," she said. "That leaves less us less than an hour. Which means…"
"Which means that we don't have much time," he completed. He unslung the weapon he was carrying, and tossed it into her lap. "Do you know how to use this?"
"If I had to… but," she said, gesturing to her laser ring. "I don't need it."
"Yes you do," he replied unhesitatingly. "The armor that they use is identical to the ones used in the Defense Forces. It's basically ballistic plate and Kevlar interwoven with a laser reflective material. Lower powered laser and energy weapons have little to no effect on it. That ring you use is effective, but it'd take something a little more powerful to penetrate their armor."
"Okay," was her only reply as she picked up the surprisingly lightweight weapon. It was compact, with an unusual, slightly curved handgrip, and an ammunition magazine positioned behind it.
"You know what?" he asked with a smirk.
"What?" she replied, not completely sure where this was going.
"You look far more attractive when you're troubled like that," he said, still smirking.
She felt her face get hot with embarrassment, and looked away from him. "Shut up."
He laughed in response, but cut off rather quickly when a distant roar sounded throughout the jungle. He quickly got serious. "Damn, they got here quicker than I expected."
"What does this mean?" she asked, her tone serious as well.
"It means they will find us very quickly if we stay here," he said, grabbing her by her uninjured arm, and helping her out of the Dread. When they both got to the ground, he hurriedly pulled her away from her Dread.
"What about my-"
"It's not going anywhere," he said as he pulled her into the jungle.
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The large, gray angular dropship sat down in a clearing in the jungle, immediately setting fire to any plant-life that was unlucky enough to under or around the powerful, fusion thrusters. It's current location was roughly five kilometers from where the Striker had crash-landed. Two minutes after the ship came to a rest on the ground, the rear bay doors opened with a mechanical whine. Almost before the bay doors settled onto the ground, several soldiers in full body armor jumped out of the craft, and onto the damp ground. They each gripped a laser rifle in their hands.
The last soldier casually walked down the ramp and onto the ground. What was different from this soldier was the fact that he had no rifle. Instead, he had a laser pistol holstered on his right hip. It was pretty clear he was the one in command of these troops. Once on the ground, he raised his helmet's visor and scanned the immediate area. His eyes then fell upon the men under his command. He then barked out orders to them.
"I want a search radius of ten kilometers from the dropship. I want the fighter and that Striker located. If you come across the pilots, and they are still alive, I want taken prisoner if possible. Report back to me immediately after you either them or the machines. Now, move it!"
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"That dropship is way too large for just a simple mop-up operation," Aidan said in a hushed tone as he stared at the craft with a pair of electronic binoculars. "They must be after something, other than us."
"They're here to steal my Dread," Meia replied. "They probably want it for its connection to the Paksis."
"Damn," he muttered, then turned to face Meia. "If that's the case, we can't let them have it."
"But we can't take on a unit of soldiers," Meia replied.
Just then, there was a crunching noise off to their left. He quickly motioned for Meia to get down. He knew she probably had little to no experience in the dirty business of ground combat, especially the kind he was put through. It was going to be tough trying to keep her alive. She may have a hell of a lot of experience as a fighter pilot and squadron commander, but almost none when it concerned this.
A pair of soldiers, with their weapons held at the ready, crept through the area, searching for them. He was going to have to be quick about this. But before he could do anything. A muffled series of shots slammed into one of the soldiers, causing him to drop to ground. Damn! He'd have to act now. The other soldier turned and loosed a laser bolt in the direction he believed the shots were coming from.
He missed, the shot instead flash-burning the side of a tree. It wasn't too far from where Meia was crouched. The soldier apparently noticed her, and adjusted his aim. Before the man could fire, Aidan quickly drew his knife and jumped the soldier from behind. Thrusting the knife into his back, and grabbing him around the neck, Aidan threw the dead soldier to the ground. He then reached down and picked up the man's weapon.
"What would do without me?" he told her as she got up from where she was.
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"Sir, we've just lost contact with Patrol Team Four," the one of the soldiers reported.
"Send two of the teams off to their last known location," the commander ordered. "Any luck finding that fighter?"
"Negative, sir, we're still looking."
"Very well," he replied. He was not in all that great of a mood. Not only did he get a deduction in rank, but now he was back to commanding soldiers on the frontlines. He would prefer to command from farther back, but right now it couldn't be helped.
Suddenly, the speaker in his helmet crackled to life. "Sir, we have located the fighter, it is about nine kilometers northwest from your current position."
Finally, some good news. "Alright, deploy the recovery team, have them report to that location. They are to get it aboard the dropship, ASAP." He switched frequencies. "Any word on Four's status?"
"Sir, we have located them," the soldier reported. "They are both dead, and their weapons were taken."
So, the pilots are still alive. "Have all teams converge on your location, I want them stopped, but taken alive. Understood?"
"Understood, sir."
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Something doesn't feel right. That thought was confirmed when he and Meia were both surrounded by no less than twenty soldiers. Each one was aiming a weapon at either of them, and that wasn't a good thing. Aidan raised the laser rifle he'd taken into firing position, but his finger never tightened on the trigger. One of the soldiers stepped forward.
"Drop your weapons!" he commanded. "You are surrounded!"
He had no desire to die, not yet, so he complied. He slowly lowered his rifle, and dropped it to the ground. He then slowly pulled his handgun out of it's holster, and dropped it to the dirt as well. He then took his knife and did the same with it. He turned his head and nodded to Meia, who relented, lowering her weapon, then disarming herself.
As soon as that was finished the soldiers jumped Aidan, forcing him to the ground. They pulled his arms behind his back and applied restraints around his wrists. They had also restrained Meia. They dragged Aidan to his feet, and one of the soldiers prodded him the muzzle of his rifle. Before long, they were taken back to the enemy dropship.
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Watching them as they brought the prisoners to the dropship, the commander noticed that one of them was wearing the combat fatigues of an SDF infantryman. The other was a blue-haired woman wearing a pilot suit. Blood stained the right arm of it, as she apparently was wounded. He knew from intelligence that she was one of the Mejalean pirates who'd fought against Earth.
A spark of interest came over him, and he walked over to the SDF soldier. "Name and rank, soldier! Wait a minute, I know who you are. That scar on your face is familiar, I always remember my handiwork"
The soldier, reacted like he'd just heard somebody that he believed was long dead. The man attempted to lash out violently when he heard his voice. He attempted to fight the guards, but failed. The soldier looked up at him, and he noticed something.
"You!" the soldier shouted. "Goddamn bastard!"
"Shut up, heretic!" the guard behind him slammed the stock of his rifle into his back, knocking him to his knees.
"It's nice to see you again, Aidan Mercer," he said sarcastically.
"Too bad I can't say the same, traitor," Aidan spat.
"Traitor is such an ugly word," he replied. "I'm merely working for the winning side, it's that simple."
"It wasn't unexpected of you," Aidan said, venom seeping into his voice.
"Perhaps I should tell you the truth about that assassination mission," he replied, smiling humorlessly. "The real truth."
"What do you mean?" Aidan asked, sounding skeptical.
"That mission, I sent you to assassinate a professor that was supporting the E.D.A.," he said, his grin getting wider, more sinister. "The truth is that man was a double agent fro the SDF."
"What!" Aidan looked like he was stricken. "Then why'd you have me kill him? Why didn't they simply off him themselves?"
"There's the catch," he replied. "Thing is, it was their price for me to switch sides. I make it look like he was killed by an unsuspecting SDF soldier, so they could be rid of him. It worked perfectly."
Aidan's expression looked like that of a child who'd just witnessed his dog getting run over by a ground car. "That can't be…"
"That's right," he said, enjoying every moment of Aidan's suffering. "You killed one of your own, as well as that mother and her little girl, all for nothing. Their blood is on your hands."
"I refuse to believe it," Aidan finally said, regaining some of his composure.
"Believe it, who's the traitor now," he laughed.
Aidan muttered something in German, and the commander couldn't figure out what he said. By the sound of it, though, it was complimentary.
"I shall look forward to 'interrogating' you," he said finally, then addressed the guards. "Take them to the dropship."
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Meia was concerned, that was for sure. She'd heard the entire conversation between Aidan and the man that was obviously in command of those troops. That conversation disturbed her. Was Aidan really responsible for the death of a mother and her child? The man was pretty arrogant, and apparently he was a traitor. She was not sure if this information would change her opinion of him. She would have to ask him about him sometime, if they lived through this.
"Get moving."
She was brought back to reality by one of the guards prodding her in the back with his rifle. She gave him a defiant look as he led her to the dropship. Seconds later they dragged Aidan to his feet, and led him to the same place, a little less courteous than they were with her. They pointed to an unoccupied bench, and gestured for both of them to sit down. She noticed that her Dread was inside the cargo bay with them.
So, they wanted it after all.
As she sat down next to Aidan, she felt slightly uncomfortable, but that could attributed to the fact that her hands were restrained behind her back. It made it somewhat difficult to sit down comfortable. She looked over at Aidan and considered asking him about that conversation, but decided against it. He looked dejected, and not in the mood to talk, especially about that. Turning back to face her Dread, whose view was partially blocked by a guard standing in front of them. She leaned her head back against the cool metal surface of the craft as it blasted off, heading straight for the same warship that shot her down.
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How's that for you, two updates in less than a week. I hope to get the next chapter up by Friday, hopefully.